Reflecting on past lives

There are a few moments in my life that I can close my eyes and recall so clearly that it is almost as if I am back in the moment. These snippets are of many different "stages" in my life and in some ways it's hard to look back now and feel like some of them were my life. Some because I was a very different person and some because so much time has passed.

I have loved each and every adventure and, at the time, each and every adventure was something I never wanted to give up. Also, If I would have never given them up I would have never gotten the chance to go on to the next.



It always breaks my heart to give up the things I love in these situations, but in doing so, I have been lucky enough to keep close the people I've loved along the way and have also discovered other things along the way that I love.

I am still struggling to find complete contentment but remembering this gives me the courage to take risks and make changes that I may not feel I want to make, but maybe need to make.

Snow days and grateful to be a true Midwesterner

I woke up this morning to the most snow I've ever seen in NYC...and by that I mean maybe 8 inches. Which, granted, is a good amount, but given the fact that there has been no significant snowfall to date that this piled on top of, it really doesn't seem like the end of the world.....I guess unless you haven't been raised in the Midwest.

Schools in the city were canceled today. People were calling into work...even though they ride the Subway and take city buses. I took a call or two today asking if Cornell was closed.

I can recall only one day in my entire undergrad career where classes were canceled and that was only after making us all suffer through morning classes. And I can assure you, those 10 inches that fell that afternoon were magnified by the 20 inches or so that had accumulated by mid-March.

In the Midwest people will get up and drive 25 mph through white out conditions to make it to work.

To be fair, we get more crappy weather - which we all like to complain about. But you know what, today I was grateful for all those experiences. I was probably one of the only people in the city smiling on my way to work today. Smiling because I was reminded of home...and to me this really didn't feel that bad.

Shopping in NYC

I am always struck by the uniqueness of everything in NYC. It seems everything in the city is an exception to the norm. One thing that still amuses me is going into a store and seeing the escalators for shopping carts. You will find these curious conveyor belts in grocery stores, the Target store and even Home Depot.

To make the best use of space, stores are often multilevel and it's easy to get people up and down using traditional escalators, but if you want to take your purchases with you you must push your cart onto the adjacent belt and when you get to the bottom, your cart is magically waiting for you.



I don't think many people find this nearly as interesting as I do...I guess I am easily amused...

...and easily annoyed.

I generally don't shop much in the city because it is also hard to browse in such cramped quarters. For example, I found myself in The Container Store on Saturday with no intention of buying anything. I had never been in the store before and just wanted to see what they sold. I ended up walking out about two minutes later after getting trapped in nearly every aisle I walked down.

But the ultimate annoyance here is grocery shopping. It's not much fun in general, but is especially frustrating at Trader Joe's and the store in Union Square in particular. Because Trader Joe's is so much cheaper than any other grocer in the city and because there are only two in NY (this the only Manhattan location) it's often as crazy as a Best Buy the day after Thanksgiving.

There have been days I have waited in line outside the store to even get in and nights I have gone to the store only to find completely bare shelves and nothing that I am looking for. The lines to check out often wrap around the entire store and although they always move fairly quickly it makes it difficult to browse the aisles.

So while I could shop for probably anything I've ever wanted in NYC, I don't. My empty kitchen cupboard can attest to that.

Working Girl!

After not really working full time since last March I am so happy to be a working girl again! The on again, off again job hunt and freelancing bit was getting a bit old and this week I started my new job as a Website Coordinator for Weill Cornell Medical College.



It makes me so happy to get up in the morning and feel like I have something meaningful to do every day. I know I walked to the train stop this morning with a big smile on my face.

Luckily, the 6 train stops at Union Square so my commute each morning is a painless five stops - a far cry from my daily battles with icy hill of death and my 45-90 minute T ride each day in Boston!!

I work in an office of about 12 and everyone there is incredibly nice and made me feel at home immediately.

My job in particular is to assist with the newly redesigned Website. I get to write content, proof, and update the site. This afternoon was my first chance to get in and work with the site. I was able to help create a style sheet and I already have a list of changes I want to make.

I am excited to make the site the best it can be and look forward to everything ahead of me in this new position.

Single in the City

Ever since I moved to the city my friends here have been trying to extol the virtues of Match.com in an effort to get me to join.

I admit it's tempting. I want to meet more people in the city and my friends who have done it are perfectly normal people who have met other perfectly normal people. I would love to have someone to share my days and adventures with and want to have someone who shares my interests to go out and experience the city with.

But I hesitate...and not because I think it's weird to meet someone online.

I don't know if I really believe that I will meet someone perfect for me in doing it and I also don't know if I even believe in love anymore.

Not that I don't believe in the existence of love. I have friends and family that I love dearly and would do absolutely anything for.

I have friends who are in relationships where they are clearly and truly in love with one another. I see them and I think they are perfect examples of what love is meant to be.

It's maybe more that I wonder if everyone is destined to find that sort of love in their lifetime.

Moving around so much has definitely made the whole idea seem even further off for me. I am starting to think that maybe it's just not in my future..and you know what, I think I am also starting to be ok with that.

Mission: To Love NYC

I spent most of yesterday feeling homesick - although not necessarily homesick for home. Just homesick for old lives where I was completely content and spent all my spare time hanging out with really great friends.

Getting people to understand this homesickness is hard. Friends from home always respond by asking why I don't just pack up and head back immediately and friends here don't really get it because they all just love NYC and claim to not imagine living anywhere else.

I don't hate the city, but I also don't love it enough to picture never living elsewhere.

I mentioned this to a friend last night and he has decided it's his job to make me love NYC. He has promised to show me all the best places in the city and the things he's discovered that make this city unique and loveable.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Airline aggravation, round 2

My frustration with air travel from my Christmas visit home has barely subsided and I once again find myself frustrated by the airline industry. This morning I started searching for tickets home for my youngest sister's high school graduation. Tickets into Moline are about $185 compared to $389 to fly into Waterloo.

Why is it so freaking expensive to fly into Iowa?! No wonder I never get to go home.

I could fly to a foreign country for less than it costs me to fly within my own country.

There are limited national carriers that fly into Iowa and none of them offer anything direct. This is where I lose time, money, and most often, my patience. All of my horrible airline stories involve a connection issue of some sort and most often O'Hare. So you can see why I don't love that place.

It literally costs me more to fly the 45 minutes from Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, where ever, to Des Moines than it costs me to fly a leg from Boston or NYC to one of those hubs.

Can someone please get Jet Blue or Southwest to fly into Des Moines? I would be eternally grateful.